


Stormrage and Shadowsong in Space

by KatieSkarlette



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Antorus spoilers, F/M, Fluff, Love/Hate, Post-Canon Fix-It, Sorry Not Sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 07:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12859845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatieSkarlette/pseuds/KatieSkarlette
Summary: Unapologetic, self-indulgent, only semi-serious Illidan x Maiev fluff, set soon after the Antorus cinematic.  I had to.[Major spoilers for Patch 7.3 / the Antorus raid.  Also a spoiler for the novel Wolfheart, but if you quested through western Val’sharah you already know it.]  Needless to say, if you hate this ship, don't read.





	Stormrage and Shadowsong in Space

**Author's Note:**

> Content warnings: Angst, sexual tension, kissing with tongue but nothing else explicit
> 
> Implies a past "frenemies with benefits" relationship between Illidan and Maiev.

“So,” came an all-too-familiar voice from behind. “I understand someone needs advice on keeping a highly dangerous, evil prisoner subdued indefinitely.”

Illidan did not turn around, but his hands curled into tight fists. “How did you get here?” he growled.

“Tsk. Haven’t you learned by now that I can hunt you down, any time, anywhere?”

He drew himself up to his full height, then slouched in defeat as he exhaled. “I’m surprised it took you this long to follow me, to be honest.”

Clanking footsteps approached, along with the swish and clink of her jagged cloak. “I had other business on Azeroth to wrap up, first. I knew you’d be easy to find, making a spectacle of yourself, as usual.”

She came to a stop beside him but kept her eyes on the infinite expanse of stars through the viewport. He did not turn to face her, but he was mildly surprised to find her helmet was nowhere to be seen. Her long, white hair was up in its customary ponytail, but her head was bare. A few new scars marked her skin since their last meeting, but her aura of stubborn ferocity was the same as ever.

A moment of heavy silence passed before she spoke again. “This is quite a splendid mess, even for you.”

He gave an amused snort. “What, no grand speeches about destiny? No platitudes about my sacrifice? No formal announcement that my past crimes have been forgiven?”

She shrugged, a gesture made all the more noticeable by the arched spikes on her shoulder armor. “You get to be the big damn hero, just like you always wanted. I don’t see the point in inflating your ego further.”

He turned to face her instead of the viewport, partially unfurling his wings in a defensive posture. “At least this time my banishment is by choice,” he said with a bitter sneer.

“Yes, yes, play the martyr,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You still don’t know the first thing about playing warden to an extremely powerful prisoner.”

“I may have been on the other side of the bars for ten thousand years, but I do have quite a lot of experience on the topic.”

“Irrelevant. I remember the shoddy job you did with my prison in Outland.”

“Hey, now, I--”

“I escaped,” she said sharply. “I won’t risk such failure this time. Let an expert handle this.”

He bristled, baring his fangs. “You won’t risk it? This has nothing to do with you, Maiev!”

She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. “Protecting our people, our world...that’s all that matters. We have to make sure Sargeras never, ever catches a whiff of freedom again,” she said fiercely.

“And that’s the only reason you’re here, I suppose,” he said with a knowing smirk. “Concern for the greater good of Azeroth.”

She stiffened defensively. “Of course.”

He leaned closer and brushed the back of one finger over her cheek. “Your...obsession with me has nothing to do with it, I’m sure.”

She scowled but did not pull away from his touch. “I know you, Illidan. You’ll find a way to mess this up, and I intend to be here to do damage control when you do.”

“Your confidence is flattering, Warden,” he said with a mocking bow of his head. “But unconvincing.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“Hmm. Some things never change, I suppose.”

“No,” she whispered. “They don’t.”

They regarded each other in silence for a moment, suddenly acutely aware of how close they were standing to each other.

At first Maiev stared at him with a stony expression, but slowly her brow arched in something akin to sorrow. “We’ve been fighting for so, so long,” she said quietly.

“We’ve won, Maiev. The Burning Legion has been neutralized, at long last. It’s over.”

“I wasn’t talking about the Burning Legion,” she said flatly.

“Then what...?”

She straightened her posture and fixed him with a hard glare. “Us. For ten centuries we’ve been at each other’s throats, but now... I know what it was like to live in a world without you, Illidan. It was a greater prison than anything you set up in Shadowmoon. I had no purpose, no focus... I tried to kill my own brother!”

“Oh good, then you can stop making a fuss about when I did that.”

She swung out to smack his arm. He didn’t flinch when her gauntlet collided with his bicep. “I’m serious!” she snarled. “It nearly broke me! After everything we have been through, after everything I’ve survived, being without you was the one thing I couldn’t-- I couldn’t--” She faltered, and he tilted his head to inspect her more closely.

“Maiev, are you...crying?”

“No!” she insisted, although her voice did sound strained. “I most certainly am not!” She took a moment to calm her breathing, then continued in a calmer tone. “But I’m not going to live like that again. You said it yourself: the huntress is nothing without the hunt. I... I need you, Illidan. As a prisoner, protege, partner, nemesis...it doesn’t matter. I need you in my life.”

He shook his head. “Maiev, you hate me,” he reminded her.

“Of course I do!” she snapped. “You hate me, too.”

“An accurate statement.”

“It doesn’t matter. We’re bound together, Illidan. Fate, destiny, curse, whatever. Our souls are so intertwined after all we’ve been through that when we’re apart I feel like part of myself is missing.” She reached up to hold his cheek. “You feel it, too, don’t you?”

He swallowed but said nothing, his face unreadable.

“Look me in the eye and tell me you’d rather spend eternity with no one but the Titans for company, out here in the Great Dark. Tell me that hatred is all you feel for me.”

He lifted a hand to cover the one she still had cupped over his left cheek. “Maiev, this is my destiny. I must--”

She dug in her fingernails so deeply that he strongly suspected he would have half moon-shaped marks on his face for hours afterward. “I am your destiny,” she hissed. “And you are mine.”

They stood locked in a stalemate for several long seconds, energy building between them. As always, neither of them knew what form that energy would take when it released.

This time, as in many times before when there were no witnesses, they collided in a hungry kiss. Maiev stood on tip-toe until he lifted her effortlessly with hands around her waist. She wrapped her legs around his middle, running her hands through his dark, silken hair as their tongues took turns invading each other’s mouths.

“Mmmaiev,” he purred, lightly biting her lower lip with the last syllable.

“Oh, my Illidan,” she replied, claiming and condemning him in the same breath. “You insufferable, reckless--” He kissed her again, interrupting the familiar string of insults.

She made a happy noise and held him tighter.

His lips strayed from her mouth and traveled down the line of her throat. “Stay,” he murmured.

She shivered pleasantly at his breath on the side of her neck. “I will.”

“I cannot imagine how boring the coming centuries would be without you around to aggravate me,” he said with a low chuckle.

“I look forward to it,” she said with a wicked grin.

 

And they lived snarkily ever after in their outer space love nest, irritating the hell out of Sargeras with their banter, and making the most melodramatic, stubborn babies ever. The end.


End file.
